Andhra government's massive crackdown on social media

In Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party-led NDA government has launched a massive crackdown on YSR Congress Party supporters and social media activists.

According to media reports, between November 6 and 12, the state police issued 680 tickets, registered 147 cases and made 49 arrests.

The crackdown comes a week after Prime Minister N Chandrababu Naidu declared that defaming women is not acceptable under the right to freedom of expression.

“If someone behaves like an animal, the government will treat him like an animal,” he warned.

Let’s take a closer look.

More than 100 YSRCP activists have been arrested across the state as part of the week-long police crackdown for allegedly sharing derogatory content on social media. The new Indian Express.

Authorities also filed 680 reports, filed 147 charges and made 49 arrests.

The alleged objectionable content posted by these activists targeted influential women: Home Minister V Anitha, TDP MLA and wife of actor N Balakrishna Vasundhara, wife of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy CM and party chief of Jana Sena
K Pawan Kalyans daughters, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president YS Sharmila and her mother YS Vijayamma.

Varra Ravindra Reddy, a 38-year-old YSRCP social media activist, is among those arrested. He is accused of uploading derogatory material targeting top officials of the Andhra Pradesh government and their families. He was placed in pre-trial detention for 14 days on Tuesday.

According to The new Indian ExpressRavindra ran more than 40 YouTube channels that spread inappropriate content, mainly targeting female leaders. According to police, he confessed to sharing objectionable material allegedly under the direction of YSRC’s social media in-charge Sajjala Bhargav Reddy.

According to the report quoting Kurnool Range DIG Koya Praveen, special police teams have been formed to arrest other notable persons such as Bhargav Reddy, Arjun Reddy, a party activist and direct aide of Jagan Mohan Reddy, and Raghava Reddy, an aide of Kadapa- MP YS Avinash Reddy. Several Social media activists are said to have gone into hiding.

Police from Maddipadu police station in Andhra Pradesh visited Hyderabad on Wednesday and issued a notice to filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, said Deccan Herald.

He reportedly shared doctored photos of CM Naidu’s family members on social media. He was summoned for questioning on November 19.

CM Chandrababu Naidu last week warned against reckless language on social media, especially against women, and promised that those who use it will be held accountable.

“The language used on social media is reckless. They make objectionable comments about women. Shouldn’t we take action? Should I ignore it? They have become criminals,” he said at a public meeting in Amaravati on November 7.

The CM alleged that YSRCP members were posting inappropriate material on social media with the intention of undermining the government.

Naidu added that freedom of expression is not an excuse to defame women and the state government would look into national and international laws to take action against those who commit character assassination.

He reiterated this warning two days later in Srisailam, saying: “You may not have respect for your family members, whether it is your mother or sister. But I respect them. Do not post anything that disrespects women, including the wives and daughters of the YSR Congress Party. I won’t tolerate it if it happens.”

On Tuesday, APCC chief Sharmila accused her brother, YSRCP leader Jagan, of inciting the party’s members to post objectionable content about her on social media.

She told the media in Vijayawada, “They (social media activists) spoke as they wanted, about me, Sunitha (late YS Vivekananda Reddy’s daughter) and mother (YS Vijayamma). Jagan Mohan Reddy himself told them to post those indecent posts.”

Social media activists have become a “satanic army,” she noted, demanding action and regulation on the Internet.

Opposition calls it ‘illegal detentions’

Former chief minister and YSRCP leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy denounced the arrests and alleged that the TDP-led coalition government was engaged in vendetta politics.

“The government is targeting social media activists with intimidation, illegal detentions and threats, directly attacking the constitutional right to freedom of expression. By suppressing these voices, the government is undermining democracy and violating the fundamental rights guaranteed to every citizen. This abuse of power shows a focus on political revenge rather than upholding democratic values,” he said.

Moreover, the YSRCP has issued strict guidelines to its members and supporters that all social media activists should conduct themselves with dignity and refrain from using abusive language or posting anything that defames women.

“Posts can be sarcastic. They can question the government on policy issues, but do not use unparliamentary language against women. Morally speaking it is also not good. They (the government and TDP) are using this as a tool against us.” The new Indian Express YSRC Legal Wing Chairman M Manohar Reddy was quoted as saying at an ‘X’ room session conducted by the party’s social media wing.

He added that the party’s legal wing has started reviewing the posts of the TDP’s social media teams over the past few months, claiming that the number of objectionable posts by the TDP teams was significantly more than that of the YSRC teams.

On behalf of Jagan, he further promised that the party would actively and legally fight all police cases.

With input from authorities